Budget Amendment No.1: westside parks, trails, and the Old Library

Liberty Park turns into a free public-lands afternoon that is easy to attend without a ticket price wall. The city's National Public Lands Day Celebration pairs a 9-Line story walk with scavenger-hunt pin turn-in, then fills the lawn with inflatables, crafts, face-painting, food trucks, and live music. Families can bounce between stations; neighbors can linger for music and a truck snack. Admission is free.

The same 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. window hosts the Public Lands Day Scavenger Hunt turn-in: complete at least 15 tasks for a prize while supplies last, per the city scavenger-hunt page. Fold that color into the afternoon rather than treating it as a separate outing. If weather turns, city Public Lands pages note the program may cancel or postpone; check the event listing (and the Facebook event page the city cites) before you leave home.

Latest details: https://www.slc.gov/events/2026/09/02/national-public-lands-day/ · Scavenger hunt: https://www.slc.gov/events/2026/04/02/public-lands-day-scavenger-hunt/

Lindsey Gardens hosts a free outdoor movie night with a printed ghost-tour schedule around the feature. The city lists ghost tours from 7:00 to 7:30 p.m. and again from 9:00 to 9:30 p.m., with Hocus Pocus starting at 7:30 p.m. in between. It is a distinctive fall park program that fits kids, date nights, and neighbors who want an evening outside without buying a ticket.

Admission is free. Bring a blanket, claim a lawn spot early if you want the first tour, and plan for a full three-hour window on the east-side grass. The printed blocks make the night feel programmed rather than a bare projector on the lawn, and the park address is easy to find on M Street.

Latest details: https://www.slc.gov/events/2026/04/02/fright-night-flick-2/

If you build something new in Salt Lake City, the city wants a one-time fee to help pay for bigger pipes, sewer capacity, and storm drains. That fee is not your monthly water bill. Official notices call this the first proposed increase since 1999.

On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at 7:00 p.m., City Council opens an in-person-only hearing at the Deseret Building at Utah State Fairpark. You can speak. No Zoom that night. A second hearing on Tuesday, October 6, at 7:00 p.m. in City Hall Room 315 is hybrid. That night, Council can take comments and consider adopting the new fees.

Here is what the printed proposals would do. A common 3/4-inch water meter would jump from $1,871 to $5,577. Stormwater would climb from $374 to $1,993 per quarter-acre. Sewer would switch to a meter-size schedule, with a 3/4-inch meter proposed at $4,300. On August 18, Council took straw polls favoring that sewer setup and a phase-in: about 70 percent of the proposed amounts from January 1, 2027, through June 30, 2028, then the full fee on July 1, 2028. Straw polls are not adoption. Nothing is final until Council votes.

Printed analysis says these fees may only cover growth's fair share of system capacity. They are not meant to fix old problems with today's pipes, or to charge new homes more than their share.

Hearing notices print 155 South 1000 West for Fairpark. The September 15 meeting recap prints 155 N 1000 W. Confirm the address on the posted agenda. Confirm the September 22 Formal agenda 24 hours out (PDF not posted as of September 16).

Speak in person September 22 at Fairpark. On October 6, register for Zoom from the agendas page (link 24 hours prior) or show up in Room 315. Email council.comments@slc.gov or call 801-535-7654. File and code cites are in Sources.

Salt Lake City almost held a public hearing on September 15 about how police automatic license plate readers may be used. Then the hearing was pulled. A City Attorney notice updated September 9 says it will be rescheduled once updated amendments and drafts are ready. The September 15 Formal agenda repeats that. The meeting recap lists no ALPR vote.

Council is still working on citywide rules for these cameras: who can use the data, how long it is kept, who it can be shared with, and how the system is audited. At a July 21 briefing, Vice Chair Erika Carlsen framed it as both a public-safety tool and a privacy concern for residents. Setting a hearing date is not the same as passing the ordinance.

While that ordinance is pending, department practice is Policy 426. Under Policy 426, plate data must be destroyed within nine months unless it is kept for an active investigation, a court order, or a warrant. Search records are kept at least five years. Misuse can be a Class B misdemeanor under Utah law. The full draft of the pending city code chapter was not extracted from the Recorder file this pass (UNVERIFIED).

Official Salt Lake City materials checked for this issue name Vigilant Solutions as the police department's contracted ALPR systems maintenance partners (Policy 426, Policy Manual PDF dated 2026/07/21). They do not name Flock.

Watch for a new hearing date on the City Attorney public notices page, Council agendas, and the Utah Public Notice Website. A leftover tentative September 22 action line is not locked until a new hearing is noticed. Email council.comments@slc.gov or call 801-535-7654. District 5: Erika.Carlsen@slc.gov / 801-535-7786. File cites are in Sources.

On September 15, 2026, Salt Lake City Council opened a public hearing in Room 315 on a Liberty Wells rezone, heard from neighbors, then hit pause. The Council closed the hearing and deferred action to a future meeting. There was no final yes or no that night.

The proposal would change zoning near 1990 and 2002 South 500 East so denser housing can be built there. Official hearing materials describe 22 for-sale four-bedroom townhomes with two-car garages and a playground. The petitioner is Castlewood Development. District 5.

A Planning Division open-house page for the same petitions still prints 24 homes with three or more bedrooms. That is an earlier or alternate printed description. The legislation before Council uses the 22 four-bedroom figure.

Nearby, and separate, unfinished business on the September 15 agenda asked Council to consider waiving some development fees for Ivory Innovations at about 707 South 400 East, the former Liberty Wells Center. That plan calls for 66 new housing units, with 75 percent planned as affordable for households at or below 80 percent of area median income. The September 15 meeting recap does not list an Ivory outcome. That result is UNVERIFIED.

The September 15 packet printed tentative action for Tuesday, September 22. The recap says a future meeting. Confirm whether it returns on the Fairpark Formal agenda (in-person only; no Zoom that night). Confirm 24 hours out at slc.gov/council/agendas or 801-535-7600.

Written comments: council.comments@slc.gov or 801-535-7654. District 5: Erika.Carlsen@slc.gov / 801-535-7786. Ivory was unfinished business that night, not a Formal public hearing. Petition and file cites are in Sources.

Want the city to rebuild a playground, fix a dangerous crossing, or upgrade a public building near you? Salt Lake City's Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is the main path for big, lasting public projects. You have until Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. to start an application at myslc.gov/funding. Create or sign in to a Salesforce account there. (Portal UI details beyond the public CIP page and application PDF were limited this pass; myslc.gov/funding returned 403 via automated fetch.)

Who can apply: residents, neighborhood groups, community organizations, and neighborhood business districts.

What qualifies: cost at least $50,000; last five years or more (ten or more if impact fees help pay); build, improve, or replace a City-owned asset; and include community outreach. Typical fits include parks and playgrounds, streets and sidewalks, bridges and signals, transit safety work, and public buildings. Routine street or sidewalk fixes belong on MyStreet Services instead.

How it works after you hit submit. Staff check whether your idea meets the basics. If it does, a City staffer is assigned. From October through December you work together on scope, cost, and how the idea fits city master plans. Eligible projects get a final application deadline in December (exact date goes to eligible applicants). Then reviews stack up: an advisory board, the Mayor's office, and finally City Council funding decisions later in the cycle. Starting an app by September 30 is step one, not a funding promise.

The initial questions ask for your name and contact info; what kind of group you are (or if you are applying as yourself); a project name; what you want to build, improve, or repair and why; a short summary; the location; community-benefit checkboxes; other funding you have tried; outreach you have already done; and uploads such as engagement docs, a map, and up to five photos. Collaboration questions with staff come after September 30. Those are preview-only on the public PDF; they are not due with the September deadline.

Context only: on August 25, Council already allocated $34.88 million for the current fiscal year's CIP. This Feature is about the next cycle of applications, not that finished vote.

Start at myslc.gov/funding by September 30. Read the program page and instructional video at slc.gov/Finance/home/capital-improvement-program-cip/. Questions: cipinfo@slc.gov.

Duck into 209 East 500 South on a weekday afternoon and the former Leonardo Museum building opens into three floors of books that reward a slow walk. Ken Sanders Rare Books has held this independent antiquarian lane in Salt Lake City since 1997, an ABAA member shop where used, new, rare, and regional Utah and Western Americana titles share space with art, maps, and ephemera. It is the kind of browse chain retail cannot fake.

Store hours printed on the shop site: Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Parking notes on the same page point you to the City Library garage on 500 South, with the first two hours free when you validate at the Library, plus metered street spots on 200 East and 500 South; street parking is free on Sundays. Bring a list or come empty-handed and let the stacks decide.

Come for a map, a first edition, or an afternoon of looking. Confirm hours on the live site before you go. https://kensandersbooks.com/

Some mornings in 9th and 9th start with a pastry case and a sandwich line that feels like the neighborhood's living room. Tulie Bakery opened that corner in Fall 2008 at 863 East 700 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84102, and the original shop is still the walk-up meet-up many residents think of first. Daily pastry and sandwich cases sit beside custom cakes, and the bakery's own site notes a longtime Downtown Farmers Market sponsor role that keeps it tied to the city's outdoor market calendar.

Phone printed for 9th and 9th: 801.883.9741. Hours on the site for both locations: Monday through Sunday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A second shop at 15th and 15th (1510 South 1500 East; 801.410.4217) extends the same daytime window if that side of town is closer.

Use 9th and 9th when you want the flagship bakery-cafe for breakfast, a coffee stop, or a cake conversation, then check the live site if you need the 15th address that day. https://tuliebakery.com/

When you want contemporary art downtown without a fixed ticket price standing between you and the galleries, start at UMOCA on West Temple. The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art is a non-collecting museum at 20 South West Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101, built around rotating exhibitions, workshop programming, and Friday late hours that stretch the week past the usual close.

Visit-page hours: Tuesday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; closed Sunday and Monday. Admission is a $10 suggested donation with a pay-what-you-can policy printed on the Visit FAQ. Phone on the site: 801.328.4201. The homepage currently lists Time, Truth, and Other Immeasurables (September 11, 2026 to June 5, 2027) among window-relevant shows; treat that as an exhibition window, not a dated ticketed event, unless a separate event page says otherwise.

Come for a quiet gallery hour or a Friday evening stretch, then confirm closures and holiday hours on the Visit page before you go. https://utahmoca.org/ · Visit: https://utahmoca.org/visit/